The moment the door was pulled open, silence fell over the entire van.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAQTe6dPZb
Darkness shrouded the figure at the entrance. No one dared to speak.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3G8bzgKV7
The children shrank into their seats, frozen.
Then the ceiling light flicked on.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbPFtyW6fi
A soft yellow glow spilled down—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJwplpZKeC
And revealed a familiar face.
It was Miss Nora!
Her face was smudged with dust and sweat, her hair a little disheveled,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhPCeeHoBA
but she was still the same Miss Nora they knew.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWGFJtbB8x
One arm supported another teacher’s shoulder. Slowly, carefully, she laid the person down on the floor of the van.
That was when Finn couldn’t hold it in anymore.
He sprang from his seat like a coil releasing.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqMBYA2g0n
He didn’t care about his backpack, didn’t wait for permission.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ipK3UG6LY
He just ran forward.
“Miss Nora!”
Nora turned, and when she saw him, a real smile lit up her face.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UrHv74t9i
She opened her arms—and the moment Finn threw himself at her, she held him tight.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxf0Yl0CgB6
His arms wrapped fiercely around her neck, and he buried his face in her shoulder.
Then he cried.
Not a quiet sob, but the kind of crying that comes after everything finally breaks loose—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzHzCmPcUl
Shoulders shaking, breath ragged, crying from the depths of a little body that had been holding on too long.
The other kids, seeing this, seemed to realize they were finally allowed.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegkHI5Jr6e
One by one, they began to cry too. Some sniffled quietly, others wailed outright.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHC6YyERhH
In seconds, the van became a tide of sorrow.
Nora held Finn like he was something unspeakably precious.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReOTmbP57h
She patted his back gently, murmured soft reassurances, calming him until he quieted down,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWXrxVWGTZ
then helped him back to his seat.
She bent down, one by one, to stroke each child’s hair, whispering calming words,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKxkpbUZSh
easing the tight little knots in their hearts.
A few minutes later, she stood up and clapped her hands.
“Alright, kids. Everyone in your seats.”68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCn7g9lvAhc
Her voice was steady—strong.
“We’re going home.”
She walked to the driver’s seat.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeu8MUN7yzg
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, she sat down, buckled in, and glanced back at them with a smile.
“Driver Nora at your service,” she said with a playful wink.
“Wishing you all a perfect day.”
Then she closed the door, started the engine, turned the wheel—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkInvV0HJPu
and slowly, the van rolled out of the darkness.
The children sat quietly,68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvtBWJSvuh
watching as the lights of the city began to appear outside the window.
They were really going home.
68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTS6pN5KUfR
68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNiYlAUPMn
Nora drove fast through a pitch-black road, darkness thick as ink.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0i0QiQuBGC
There were no streetlights ahead. The world was silent.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wEAq3S1MT
Only the stretch of road illuminated by her headlights moved with her—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkJbGviSAv
like she was slicing a narrow path through the night.
She gritted her teeth, fingers white on the wheel.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxT5jl1zcyj
The pain in her abdomen came earlier than expected.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDZ70nBys7
This wasn’t just soreness. It was a dull, deep throb—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIJGsFhufD
pulsing outward from inside her, like a warning. Like a punishment.
Still, her grip on the steering wheel was steady.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjcHFYhaSn
Her foot moved smoothly between gas and brake—no hesitation.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2U5NRXXDI7
She couldn’t afford a mistake.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8TvFHN71w
She couldn’t go too slow, either.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmaFBvs5Pds
This wasn’t just about driving the kids home.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVOHBKRE0D
This was her responsibility. The path she had chosen to bear.
The backseat gradually quieted.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysP3fN4XlW
After the shock, drowsiness began to take over.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZni43tewd
Little bodies leaned against the seats, lips still salty with tears.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUg9QALX8rY
A few began to murmur that they were hungry—it was dinner time, after all.
Nora glanced in the rearview mirror—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TDDCK0ohV
They were all there. Quiet. Safe.
She looked back at the road, calculating silently.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUAXaZx2by
It would take about two more hours to reach the city.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8TzzLQfS7
Assuming nothing happened in between... she could make it.
“Can’t stop,” she whispered to herself.
Her foot pressed down just a little harder on the gas.
68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVaRXNmyLV
68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIELiybo0Mq
Nora swore under her breath.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmODfpcRVU
Her vision blurred. Her head was spinning.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQF7X6cRxME
She knew this wasn’t just fatigue—this was blood loss.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcc7KWkPfUt
She forced herself to blink, tried to keep the road ahead in focus—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5mgNP9GY6
but the white lines shimmered, floating like ripples in water.
If she kept driving, something bad would happen.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWtYoWQToK
She was nearing her limit.
She eased off the gas, thinking fast:68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAg2WhEW4w
Could she use voice command to call for help?68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsz1QRQpJWq
No—if she spoke now, the kids would hear something was wrong.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNh5VqxclB
Maybe ask a nearby farmhouse? Too slow. Too risky.
The best scenario would be—
VROOOOM—
A motorcycle roared from the opposite direction.
Its headlight was blinding. A flash of black and red passed the corner of her vision.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1alS976gE2
Both of them turned their heads at the same time.
In that moment, the world stopped.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipItcPcccP
Like a slow-motion scene in a movie, all sound was sucked away—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9XIc6pnX7
leaving only their eyes meeting.
Blue eyes met green.
Nora let out a breath, then gently pulled over to the side of the road.
Seconds later, a screech of brakes tore through the night.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlklURq9nSo
Tires skidded against the ground.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDGqpfqGKR
Footsteps approached.
Knock knock—68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOMWpR8uUy
Someone tapped on the door.
Nora turned toward the backseat.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZozhjV3Doe
“Kids,” she said with a smile, “someone’s here to help us.”
“Let’s welcome him.”
The door opened.
Red Robin stepped into the van, his cape fluttering slightly in the night breeze.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5yvfsrkZ9
His blue eyes scanned a dozen wide-eyed children staring back at him.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwDk5rh7aa
His expression froze awkwardly.
“Uh... hey there,” he said stiffly. “Hi, everyone.”
No one responded.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ax4pAzUJb
It was like seeing a movie character suddenly walk into the real world.
Nora reached out and tugged on his cape.
Tim froze. He turned to her.
It was the first time they’d spoken this closely since he’d broken into her house.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoF4T8nqbOO
Back then, she’d looked at him coldly.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzOui9HFqkE
Now, under the faint light, her face was pale.
“Lean down,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
He obeyed, leaning closer.
Her breath was faint against his ear.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLuL1PsKUF
“I’ve been shot. But the kids can’t know. You drive. Get them home.”
Tim’s pupils contracted.68Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qumpYk9iU
In that instant, every ounce of logic in his mind snapped to full alert.
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and then Add to home screen.